three things...

1. a picture of me at the shower... not a good one, but the only one i have aside from the last post, which i suppose, hides the pregnancy a bit.

i had to take my friend, mara, out of the picture based on her reaction when she saw it. without her, it looked like i was laughing with a mouthful of cake at a black void, so i added in a monkey, swinging from a monkey bar to give my expression a bit more purpose.

(p.s. those of you at the last shower... please pretend you've never seen my outfit before now)

now that i've subjected myself to ridicule, perhaps you will feel obliged to follow all of the links i'm about to post.

so, 2. is: 'the business of being born'

we are going to see it tomorrow. you can rent it from netflix now. it's a documentary about birth in the u.s. i will probably have more to say about it after tomorrow. i'm sure my views will be slanted (toward the film) as i'm planning a home birth, so you should probably just rent the movie for yourself =) or go see it if it's playing in your area =), or at least click on the link above and watch the preview or read the synopsis =).

3. related to 2.: wisconsin public radio had a show this a.m. about this documentary and home births. my midwife (ingrid andersson) was one of those interviewed, as well as the producer and director of the film. i only got to listen to part of it on my drive to work this morning, but am excited to hear the entire thing. you can listen to the show too, by clicking here and scrolling to the Friday 2/29/08 7a.m. show (currently the second one from the top).

enjoy!

monkey shower

monkey in the moby carrier...

vote for bowser '08

even though we all know little man oliver is the cutest puppy around town... this one comes in a close second... and he's entered in the spaydayusa.org contest for cutest puppy. since oliver decided not to compete this year, please show your support for bowser by voting for him at spaydayusa.org by searching under his name or under owner name 'farrell.' it will make him very happy.

SUNday

finally, a sunny day that melts the snow! not all of the snow mind you... that would take a much hotter sun... or longer day... and as i type, a 'weather alert' for madison pops up on the screen. i think it might be about.... snow?

in any event, they are referring to tomorrow... a pleasant monday of flurries. today though, i got to wear my lighter winter jacket and take ollie over to the dog park, which inevitably tires him out.

here they all are... post dog park...

you can see roo is giving ollie the stink eye which worries ollie... was it smart to sit this close to her?

eventually, he and mrs go to comfort greg who suffered through the nice weather with a cold/flu/sinus something or other... =(

oliver is much more comfortable in here...

as is rabbit when she gets the couch all to herself...

stretchhhhhhhhyawwwwn........

i was going to post a picture of week 35.5 but decided not to as the photos merely alerted me to the fact that the maternity sweatshirt i'm wearing is now too small. so the pictures just looked goofy.
perhaps in a few days when i'm full term (i.e. baby won't be considered premature if born anytime after that date and we have the thumbs up for a home birth!).

winter of '78-'79 has nothing on us

is this what things have come to? snapping photos of a sad dog who says it's too cold to go out on a fun, long walk, even with a coat on?

so madison officially broke its 29 year record as the snow piled up to the height of a rather tall nba guard (or short forward)-- 6 feet 7.2 inches. and winter still has 38 more days until it's due to leave. (as a side note: this baby has 42 days until it's due to arrive.)

according to the mayor, the city is looking into making "I plowed through the winter of 07-08" t-shirts for city employees in the streets, engineering, and parks divisions. what about all of us who didn't have plows rigged to the front of our vehicles? i drove through it, mulled, and stewed over it, all while quite pregnant.

okay, i will get over this winter, i promise, and i won't feel sorry for myself any longer, but i can't guarantee it won't continue being a topic for some discussion, no matter how redundant.

and that's the weather update from madison.

snow snow winter winter

...essentially, that is what defines madison at this point.

you know how some winters are kind? they touch down because they have to, because the midwest demands its change of seasons to feel fulfilled, but they make as little noise as possible while they're settled in and then happily pack up and make room for spring, not even insisting on a goodbye, just quietly moving out in the middle of some night? a reassuring midwife saying it doesn't have to be all bright lights and strapped down to machines to happen.

well this is not that kind of winter.

this is an egotistical winter. the kind that wants to prove its dominance over all of the other seasons, that's embarrassed to be associated with those self-effacing winters of the past and so seeks to distinguish itself. the kind that seems to harbor a resentment toward its recipients who, it knows, are helpless to do anything about it beyond moving it to the side until the next big storm or little fury.

here was one such little fury... just a small annoyance having seen it so many times already...

this, the same setting, after the most recent big storm that shut down the schools, the courthouse, the buses, the entire county, and stranded thousands of people on the interstate for 12+ hours (although the governor is looking into the disorganized response to that one)...

though greg keeps his own spirits up, mr. puppy isn't sure he likes this overabundance of a white wonderland...

he gets cold... and, he's short, and gets shorter as the snow gets taller...

so, i guess it's just a wait it out kind of winter. it can't last forever. spring may not be as powerful, but it is persistent. in another month it will begin to make its entrance... a little tug boat slowly pushing winter out of the way.